Pacific Northwest Indians

1. Pacific Northwest Indians Coastal V.S Plateau Written by Marina Coastal Indians Plateau Indians

2. Location Coastal Indians Plateau Indians • The Plateau Indians lived on the Plateau, and the area was very dry. There were also not many trees, which makes it hard to build houses. It was not the perfect place to live because they had to travel a lot, and there were not many animals. • The Coastal Indians lived on the Coast, where there were lots of trees and an ocean. The Coastal Indians had lots of animals and trees around to make shelter and to hunt, which made there home by the ocean a great place to live, so they didn’t have to move homes.

3. food Coastal Indians Plateau Indians • The Plateau Indians major food was salmon, but woman and girls also collected berries and nuts. Other Indians hunted deer, rabbit, mountain goats, sheep, and birds. Also, some Indians collected roots. There were lots of animals around the Plateau Indians camp, but they had to go far to hunt them. It was more difficult for the Plateau Indians to find food than the Coastal Indians. • The Coastal Indians were considered “rich” to the other tribes. They also collected berries and roots and fished for salmon like the Plateau Indians, but the also ate clams, mussels, oysters, and crabs from the ocean so close by, which were collected by children. Meat was also hunted by Indians. It was easy to find food around their home.

4. Shelter Coastal Indians Plateau Indians • The Plateau Indians homes were called teepees. Teepees looked similar to tents, but they were much taller. These homes were made of tulle mats and were spread on poles which were used to hold the teepees up. I know you might think, “why didn’t the Plateau Indians just make long houses which are nicer to live in?” Well, The Plateau Indians could never find the perfect home, and they had to be able to transport there homes when the place they lived in was running out of meat to hunt, which was not possible to do with long houses. • The Coastal Indians lived in house made of wood which we call long houses. Inside a long house, you sleep with your WHOLE family; Mom, Dad, Aunt, Uncle, cousins, Brothers, and Sisters. All of the Indians beds are lined along the walls of the long house inside. There was a small cooking area with a fire in the center of the homes that the Indians used to roost food. The Coastal Indians did not have moveable homes like teepees, because there home was absolutely perfect and there was no need to move.

5. Clothing Coastal Indians Plateau Indians • The women of the Plateau Indians made all of the Indians leather clothing, which was made from animal skins hunted by men. The Plateau Indians also decorated their clothing with feathers, shells, and porcupine quills. These materials were all found around the Plateau Indians home. • The Coastal Indians often used cedar bark to create their clothing, but they also often used animal skins just as the Plateau Indians did. They got the cedar bark from cedar trees, and the animal skins were found when men of the tribe hunted them. All of their clothes were very beautiful and always kept them warm. The Coastal Indians had plenty of materials such as plants and animals to use to make their clothing.

6. Transportation Coastal Indians Plateau Indians • The Plateau Indians moved often from their home, so needed good transportation. They used horses to travel and to carry their teepees, which where much to heavy for them to carry. The horses they got came from other tribes when they needed transportation to move. The Plateau Indians would trade food or clothing to other tribes and in return, receive the horses they call transportation. • The Coastal Indians did not use living creatures to travel like the Plateau Indians did, they made canoes. The canoes were made from the bark of trees. The Indians held them over a fire to hollow out the canoe so it made it possible to fit people inside when needing to travel across oceans

7. Customs & beliefs Coastal Indians Plateau Indians • All of the Plateau Indians believed everyone had a spirit animal. The Plateau Indians honored many animals and they were spiritual to them. They believed a man could swim through a lake and pop out the other side as their spirit animal. You might think this sounds silly, but it is what the Plateau Indians believed in. • The Coastal Indians also believe in the spirit animals. They believed everyone had one of their own. The Coastal Indians also believed in having special ceremonies and wearing masks, dancing, and telling stories.

8. Thank you for listening and learning about the Coastal and Plateau Indians